New Sparkling Blooms Photographed with Ultraviolet-Induced Visible Fluorescence by Craig Burrows

Whenever a flower is hit by sunlight, it lets off a bioluminescence-like glow—we just can’t see it. Since 2014, photographer Craig Burrows has been practicing ultraviolet-induced visible fluorescence (UVIVF) photography, which is the process of taking pictures of glowing flowers that have been put under a UV light.

Burrows’ process starts at night when he ventures out under the cover of darkness to pick flowers growing in his surrounding neighborhood. Once he’s picked his subjects he brings them back to his house where shoots them under a 365nm UV light. Burrows says he rarely knows how an image is going to turn out; sometimes certain flowers he thinks are going to turn out really beautifully will end up falling flat and vice versa.

Burrows started shooting UV-induced fluorescence after seeing Swedish photographer Oleksandr Holovachov’s work. “The photos were like nothing I’d ever seen before and stood in stark contrast to the ridiculously abundant photos of pretty flowers in the modern day,” Burrows tells Creators. “Having already been doing infrared photography, I realized I was more drawn to the categories of photography fewer people were doing and UVIVF certainly checked the box. After having done it for so long now, I find it fascinating how distinctly the fluorescence manifests on different parts of a flower’s anatomy.”

In addition to ultraviolet-induced visible fluorescence, the self-proclaimed eclectic photographer also takes traditionally-lit photos of the outdoors, as well as macro shots of insects, arachnids, and fungi. Whether working with alternative light sources or capturing more conventional shots, Burrows proves that, when it comes to nature, there’s always more than meets the eye.

Burrows chooses to focus on flowers, creating colorfully vivid interpretations of jade blooms, daisies, and irises that seem to practically glow from within. You can follow more of his work on Flickr.